Suction cup nub cover

ABSTRACT

A nub cover for covering the suctions cup nubs extending through the wall of a container, the nub cover having a holder for holding a connecting member or one or more nubs to hold the nub cover in place. Also disclosed is a container, at least one suction cup and a nub cover for covering the nub(s) and protecting them from dirt.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to the covering of protrudedsurfaces, and in particular to the covering of suction cup nubs oncontainers and the like.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] Many household articles are on the market today in the form ofcontainers, kitchen and bathroom utensils, holders and racks ofdifferent sorts and the like which use one or more suction cups to holdthese articles in place on smooth surfaces such as bathroom tiles,mirrors, metal doors and walls, kitchen tiles and plastic supportsurfaces. These devices generally have a hole on the rear wall of thearticle through which the suction cup head extends, to hold the conicalcup portion behind the article and the head, with its nub extendingthrough the article to hold the suction cup in place. The nub isgenerally flexible, and larger than the hole, so that it cannot beeasily pulled out. The nub is often times transparent with a cloudy ormilky color, and occasionally has an opaque color. These nubs aregenerally functional in use, and tend to be somewhat unsightly.Moreover, the surface between the article and the underside of the nubis a place where dirt and the like may gather which should be reduced orprevented. In some articles, the back wall of the article is bent overitself so that the very rear part of the back wall is not visible whenthe article is hung on a support surface. In this rear portion of theback wall, one or more holes can be provided for holding suction cups.However, the provision of the double back wall adds costs to thematerial used to make the product as well as increasing the die used inthe production of the article (if it is plastic, which most of thesearticles are). In addition, the double wall causes the article itself tostick out further from the support surface than would occur if a singlewall were used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a cover forsuction cup nubs in household articles.

[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide a cover forsuction cup nubs which is attractive in use.

[0007] Still another object of the present invention is to provide acover for suction cup nubs, which renders the nubs substantially freefrom dirt and grime.

[0008] Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide acover for suction cup nubs which is inexpensive to produce, and easy toinstall.

[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a suctioncup nub holder, which can cover a number of suction cup nubs in a singlearticle.

[0010] Other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe description in this application.

[0011] The foregoing objects are accomplished by means of a plastic nubholder which is configured to cover the suction cup nubs on the article,and has clip-on devices for engaging the nubs to hold the suction cupnub cover in place. The cover itself should be cosmetically pleasing,and can be a plastic cover having an oval configuration and anattractive surface, such as a metallic surface or a surface with someappropriate design.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012]FIG. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of the invention.

[0013]FIG. 2 is a top view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

[0014]FIG. 3 is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

[0015]FIG. 4 is a rear view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

[0016]FIG. 5 is a cut away view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, takenalong the lines 5-5 in FIG. 2.

[0017]FIG. 6 is a top cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown inFIG. 1, taken along the lines 6-6 in FIG. 5.

[0018]FIG. 7 is a cut away view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, takenalong the lines 7-7 in FIG. 6.

[0019]FIG. 8 is a pictorial view of the second embodiment of theinvention.

[0020]FIG. 9 is a front view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8.

[0021]FIG. 10 is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8.

[0022]FIG. 11 is a top view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8.

[0023]FIG. 12 is a cut away view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8,taken in the direction 12-12 in FIG. 11.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0024] FIGS. 1-7 show an embodiment of the invention involving a suctioncup nub cover for a single nub. The drawings show a basket and suctioncup assembly 1 having a tall plastic basket 3 with a front wall 5, arear wall 7, and side walls 9 and 11. Basket 3 has a bottom 13, which isintegral with the sides, and an open top. Rear wall 7 extends higherthan front wall 5 from bottom 13. Walls 5, 7, 9 and 11 flare outsomewhat from bottom 13, and they terminate in an upper edge or rim 15which defines a generally oval opening in basket 3. A hole 17 isprovided near the upper portion of rear wall 7.

[0025] A suction cup 19 is provided for hanging basket 3 on a supportsurface, such as smooth tiles, a mirror, smooth metal or plasticsurfaces or other smooth surfaces. Suction cup 19 includes a conicalflange portion 21 which can be pressed against the surface for holdingthe suction cup to the surface. Suction cup 19 further has a head 23dimensions to extend through hole 17, and on head 23 is a nub 25. Nub25, like the rest of suction cup 19, is somewhat compressible, and has adiameter larger than the diameter of hole 17. Therefore, in order toinstall suction cup 19 on basket 3, one pushes suction cup nub 25against hole 17 to compress nub 25 and force it through the hole. Oncethrough the hole, nub 25 expands to retain suction cup 19 on basket 3.

[0026] Nub 25 is somewhat unsightly and further could accumulate dirtbeneath the surface of basket 3 and nub 25. In order to render assembly1 more sightly and to prevent dirt from accumulating beneath nub 25, anub cover 27 according to the invention is provided.

[0027] Nub cover 27 has a generally smooth attractive outer face 29which is convex in configuration, thus extending outwardly from rearwall 7 when nub cover 27 is installed on basket 3. Nub cover 27 has arear face 31 having rearwardly extending cylinders 33, 35 which aresomewhat outwardly flared (so they are not really cylinders) forgripping a connecting member extending through a pair of holes 37, 39.

[0028] Alternatively, a similar structure could be provided on rear face31 of nub cover 27 for engaging nub 25 to hold nub cover 27 in place.

[0029] Nub cover 27 has an edge 41 which tightly engages rear side 7 toprevent dirt from going behind nub cover 27.

[0030] Nub cover 27 is easy to install, simply requiring the insertionof attachment member through holes 37, 39 for engagement with cylinders33, 35. Nub cover 27 is very attractive in appearance, and hides nub 25.

[0031] Turning next to FIGS. 8-12, another embodiment of the inventionis shown. This embodiment shows that the nub cover according to theinvention can cover two suction cup nubs, and could cover any additionalnumber of suction cup nubs as well. These figures show a suction cupbasket assembly 101 having a basket 103 which is larger than basket 3 ofFIGS. 1-7. Basket 103 has a front wall 105, a rear wall 107, and sidewalls 109 and 111. Basket 103 has a bottom 113 which is integral withthe sides. The sides project upwardly from bottom 113 and flareoutwardly to a rim 115. Sides 105, 107, 109 and 111 flare somewhatoutwardly as they project upwardly from bottom 113, and rear side 107extends up further from bottom 113 than does front side 105. Basket 103has a pair of holes 117, 118 for receiving part of one of a pair ofsuction cups 119, 120.

[0032] Suction cups 119, 120 have conical flange portions 121, 122which, when compressed against a smooth surface made of glass, tile,smooth plastic or smooth metal, hold the suction cup to that surface.Suction cups 119, 120 also have head portions 123, 124, which have ontheir free end portions enlarged, compressible nubs 125, 126. In orderto assemble suction cups 119, 120 to basket 103, one presses the nubsagainst the respective holes in basket 103 to compress the nubs andforce them through the holes. The nubs then expand, and prevent thesuction cups from being displaced from the holes. Another set of holes137, 139 are provided on rear wall 107, shown in the drawings as beinginside of the holes 117, 118.

[0033] Assembly 101 further includes a suction cup nub cover 127 whichis preferably made from a suitable plastic, and has cylindrical walls133, 135, similar to walls 33 and 35 in assembly 1, which extendrearwardly from the rear wall of cover 127. Cylinders 133, 135engagement attachment members which extend through holes 137, 139, tohold nub cover 127 in place. As in the previous embodiment, nub cover127 has an attractive front surface, such as a polished metal surface orother attractive colors, and sits close to rear wall 107 to prevent dirtfrom collecting behind cover 127.

[0034] The suction cup nub covers according to the invention accomplishthe objectives set forth above. They cover the unattractive nubs ofsuction cups, and present a clean, attractive appearance and prevent thecollection of dirt between the nub and the wall against which the nubsits. Nub covers are relatively inexpensive to manufacture and easy toassemble.

[0035] The invention has been described in detail with particularemphasis on the preferred embodiments thereof, but variations andmodifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will appearto those skilled in the art from this application.

I claim:
 1. For use with a wall to be attached to a smooth supportsurface by means of at least one suction cup having a nub extendingthrough the wall to attach the wall to the suction cup and a conicalflange located on the opposite side of the wall from the nub to attachthe suction cup to the smooth support surface, a nub cover comprising: acover portion locatable on the same side of the wall as the at least onenub and dimensioned to cover the at least one nub; and a holder forholding said cover portion over the at least one nub to hide the atleast one nub from view.
 2. A nub cover according to claim 1 whereinsaid holder comprises at least one receptacle for receiving at least oneconnecting member extending from the wall.
 3. A nub cover according toclaim 2 wherein each of said at least one receptacle comprises acylinder-like structure for receiving a connecting member extending fromthe wall at a position spaced from the nub.
 4. A nub cover according toclaim 2 wherein there are at least two nubs extending through the wall,said cover portion covering the at least two nubs in response to said atleast one receptacle receiving the at least one connecting member.
 5. Anub cover according to claim 1 wherein said holder is dimensioned andconfigured to engage the nub and hold said nub cover in place.
 6. Acontainer assembly comprising: a container having at least one wall, thewall having at least one orifice of a predetermined diameter or crosssectional size; at least one resilient suction cup, each of said suctioncups including: a conical flange portion; a head of a predetermineddiameter or cross sectional size no greater than the diameter or crosssectional size of said orifice in said wall, extending from the flangeportion; and a nub on said head having a larger diameter or crosssectional size than said head and said orifice, said nub beingcompressible to fit through said orifice; and a nub cover, said nubcover including: a cover portion locatable on the same side of said wallas said nub and dimensioned to cover each of the said nubs; and a holderfor holding said cover portion over each of said nubs to hide each ofsaid nubs from view.
 7. A container assembly according to claim 6wherein said holder comprises a receptacle for receiving a connectingmember extending from said wall.
 8. A container assembly according toclaim 7 wherein said receptacle is engageable with a connecting memberextending from said wall at a position spaced from said nub.
 9. Acontainer assembly according to claim 6 wherein said holder isdimensioned and configured to hold at least one of said nubs to holdsaid nub cover in place.
 10. A container assembly according to claim 6wherein said wall has a hole spaced from said orifice for receiving aconnecting member, said holder engaging the containing member tomaintain said nub cover in place.